Aditya Hassan’s expansion of 90’s Middle Class Biopic web series comes with its highs and lows. The young director deserves praise for how he has integrated different social topics like menstruation and casteism, he has also drawn excellent performances from both Anand Devarakonda and Vaishnavi. But the film suffers somewhat with its Ott style of storytelling; still Aditya shows that he is a promising new talent
Starcast: Anand Devarakonda, Vaishnavi Chaitanya, Vasuki, Sivaji and others
Genre: Romance
Writer and director: Aditya Hassan
Music: Hesham Abdul Wahab
Cinematography: Azeem Mohammad
Producers: Suryadevara Naga Vamsi and Sai Soujanya
Production houses: Sithara Entertainments and Fortune Four Cinemas
Running time: 2 hours and 30 minutes
In a short span of time Aditya Hassan has created his own niche with both 90’s Middle Class Biopic and his production venture Little Hearts. His observation of middle-class families especially the father characters is quite interesting. Epic (First Semester) takes certain characters from MCB but with a different flavor. In one way a comparison can be made to last week’s Mirzapur (the movie). Epic primarily focuses on Anand Devarakonda’s Aditya and Vaishnavi Chaitanya’s Kadali. Sivaji and Vasuki also feature in small but important roles. Aditya is an aspiring filmmaker with plans of becoming a successful director, however a situation comes where he has to put his passion aside for supporting the family. In UK he meets the free-spirited Kadali, she is a more secure individual with a few psychological scares. How the two get into a live in relationship and the roller coaster journey forms the core of Epic (First Semester)
A strong aspect of Epic (first semester) is the dynamics between the leads. Aditya Hassan does an interesting gender flip with Kadali being the more strong footed, in physical intimacy too she takes the first step. After an act of sex its Aditya who feels emotionally overwhelmed with tears in his eyes. At the same time Kadali has her own deep-rooted scars. Aditya gradually unravels the vulnerability of Kadali underneath the flamboyant nature.
Both Anand and Vaishnavi feed off each other with strong performances. Anand does a fine job in capturing Aditya’s naivety and his inner dilemmas. Vaishnavi too gets into the skin of her role portraying the strong footedness as well as her insecurities very well. A specific mention must be made of Kadali’s breakdown where she opens up about her menstruation problems and the subsequent mood swings.
The director treats this topic with the required sensitivity integrating it seamlessly into the narrative. The film also dwells briefly into the obstacle of caste with Kadali specifically talking about the different social hierarchies they belong to. Aditya Hassan also does a good job in showcasing the emotional turbulence of early adulthood.
The hero’s conflict between professional and personal ambitions and how this impacts both has been well showcased.
Hesham Abdul Wahab’s songs have a good variety. The folk number ‘Sancharamey’ works as a strong foundation number. On the other hand, you have the melodious Priya Sakhi. This portion features some nice lovey Dovey moments.
Azeem Mohammad through his lens does an efficient job in capturing the different moods. One of the major issues with Epic (First Semester) is its Ott style of storytelling especially the cliff hanger, it feels more suited to a web show rather than a movie. The early UK portions also feel contrived with Aditya finding a live in partner with a single song sequence.
Apart from the leads Sivaji and Vasuki also make their presence amply felt. Sivaji in particular makes a solid impact as a father with a seemingly tough exterior. There is a scene of Sivaji going into his son’s empty room and sleeping in his bed. Without any dialogue this portion conveys how Sivaji’s character is missing Aditya. Even the pre climax of the father accepting his son’s filmmaking dreams is done with minimal melodrama, nothing flashy but it works.